Women's Cross Country Places Third in First Competition of 2012

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – A pair of freshmen Bobcat runners posted impressive debuts to lead Quinnipiac to a third place finish at the Stony Brook Invitational. Rookies Ashley Carle (Jackson, N.J.) and Chelsea Savage (Pembroke, Mass.) finished in ninth and 11th place overall on Saturday as Quinnipiac completed the race with 68 points, behind Stony Brook's 20 points and fellow NEC competitor Sacred Heart with 49.

"We ran just a small group today but the girls all did so well and we are really happy with our result," Quinnipiac head coach Carolyn Martin said. "All our girls raced hard and gave it all they had. For our freshman to all do so well today in their first race gives us just a glimpse at what kind of team we will have for the future."

After graduating from Jackson Memorial with MVP honors in cross country during her senior season, Carle kicked off her Quinnipiac career with 15:24.58 in the 4k event and her first top-10 overall finish. Her fellow freshman teammate Savage finished a mere five seconds behind Carle with 15:29.85 to lead Quinnipiac.

Rounding out the top-five for the Bobcats, all of which placing from 15th to 17th, was junior Christina Faust (Macungie, Pa.), senior Rachel Morelli (Philadelphia, Pa.), and another rookie in Medinah Nabadduka (Windsor, Conn.). Faust came in with 16:00.24, Morelli finished at 16:03.55, and Nabadduka completed her first collegiate race in 16:04.95.